"When Mr. Zhang was seriously ill, I was not able to visit him, which is a pity."
On April 9, 1969, Premier Zhou apologized to his wife Hong Xihou, his son Zhang Yichun, and others at Zhang Zhizhong's funeral.
The Zhang family understands that Premier Zhou has every opportunity to appear at the funeral at this moment, and they are already very grateful.
"The tie on the wreath was inscribed by the chairman himself."
Premier Zhou told them that Chairman Mao had an administrative affair to handle and could not come, so he entrusted him with a wreath.
Hong Xihoudai's deceased husband thanked Premier Zhou and Chairman Mao:
"Wen Bai (Zhang Zhizhong) will certainly be happy to know that you have done so many things for him." Mr. Lau fu helped to convey hello to the chairman. ”
After the ceremony, Zhang Zhizhong's younger son, Zhang Yichun, sent Premier Zhou away from the funeral site.
"Before I came, Chairman Mao asked me to ask you two things..."
Chiang Kai-shek's confidante is not afraid of the shadow obliquely
The main reason why Premier Zhou and Chairman Mao were more concerned about Zhang Zhizhong's confidential documents during his lifetime was that Zhang Zhizhong was once an important official of the Kuomintang.
Zhang Zhizhong was born in 1890 to a peasant family in Chao County, Anhui (now Chaohu, Anhui), to ordinary peasant parents.
After graduating from the Baoding Military Academy, he went south to Guangdong to participate in the Dharma Protection Movement, and then entered the Whampoa Military Academy as an officer and regimental commander, and became very good friends with Premier Zhou, Yun Daiying and others.
During this period, he was appreciated by Chiang Kai-shek, and at the age of 35 he was promoted to deputy chief of the Kuomintang headquarters.
After the first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation broke down, Chiang Kai-shek and Wang Jingwei carried out several "Qing Communists", and in the face of the confrontation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, Zhang Zhizhong still maintained friendly exchanges with Zhou Enlai.
In January 1932, Japan deliberately sent the "128 Incident", and zhang Zhizhong, upon learning the news, immediately led the Fifth Army, an elite Kuomintang unit, to the battlefield.
Five years later, the "July 7 Incident" broke out, and Zhang Zhizhong, who was then the commander of the Kuomintang 9th Army, led the 87th and 88th Divisions to resist the war, and was forced to leave the battlefield due to physical reasons.
Zhang Zhizhong, who had a heavy army in his hands, actively resisted Japan, and had friendly relations with communist leader Zhou Enlai and others, so much so that Chiang Kai-shek doubted whether he had reached some kind of agreement with the Communists in private.
To this end, Chiang Kai-shek deliberately arranged for Zhang Zhizhong to "encircle and suppress" the Red Army, and Zhang refused to obey such military orders, preferring to surrender military power or go to a military academy as an instructor rather than fight with the Communists on the battlefield.
His actions made Chiang Kai-shek even more suspicious of his loyalty, and he immediately sent Dai Kasa to search for evidence.
Dai Kasa did not find out Zhang Zhizhong's "misdeeds, and he also submitted to Chiang Kai-shek materials on Zhang Zhizhong's heavy troops, but he never abused his power for personal gain, did not form cliques, and was loyal to the party and the state.
Since then, Zhang Zhizhong has been reused by Chiang Kai-shek and has successively served as chairman of Hunan Province and chairman of Xinjiang Province.
Later, Chiang Kai-shek transferred him back to work in the central government and served as the director of Chiang Kai-shek's attendant office and the chief negotiator of the Kuomintang, including the "Chongqing Negotiations" and the "Peking Negotiations" that determined the direction of relations between the two parties.
Therefore, Zhang Zhizhong, who has been Chiang Kai-shek's confidant for decades, must have a lot of secret Documents of the Kuomintang in his hands.
When he died in 1969, Chairman Mao asked Premier Zhou how to handle the confidential documents, in effect caring for Zhang Zhizhong's family and avoiding a small group of careerists from taking the opportunity to harass the Zhang family.
From "Chongqing Negotiations" to "Beiping Peace Negotiations"
The reason why Chairman Mao was able to think about the Zhang family was related to what Zhang Zhizhong did before his death.
Zhang Zhizhong was not as extreme as Chiang Kai-shek was to the Communist Party, and he not only maintained very friendly relations with Premier Zhou and others, but at the same time, he also vigorously promoted peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chiang Kai-shek wanted to steal the fruits of the revolution and eliminate the communist-led army and revolutionary base areas, and on the advice of U.S. Ambassador Hurley, he sent three telegrams to Chairman Mao on August 14, 20, and 23, 1945, inviting him to Chongqing to participate in the negotiations.
Chairman Mao naturally knew Chiang Kai-shek's thoughts, and after discussion at the Politburo meeting, Chairman Mao decided to go to Chongqing with Zhou Enlai.
On August 27, 1945, Zhang Zhizhong and Hurley arrived in Yan'an by special plane to pick up Chairman Mao and others to chongqing to participate in the negotiations.
"I am most worried about Chairman Mao's security."
Premier Zhou and Zhang Zhizhong are already old acquaintances, and he directly expressed his biggest concerns.
"I can vacate my Guiyuan garden for Mr. Mao to live in."
Guiyuan is Zhang Zhizhong's official residence in Chongqing, close to Zengjiayan No. 50, where Premier Zhou stayed, and close to the CCP's Southern Bureau in Hongyan New Village.
It was agreed that Zhang Zhizhong's family would move out, and after Chairman Mao moved in, Zhang Zhizhong would send some additional guards to guard it.
Premier Zhou has his own plan: "It's all your guards, in case something happens, you need to be responsible for the responsibility, so it's not good." I want to give the task of defending the gendarmerie commander Zhang Zhen, and your people wear plain clothes and do internal protection. ”
Zhang Zhizhong agreed, and after that, the two exchanged views on possible issues in the negotiations.
After all the negotiations were in place, on August 28, Zhang Zhizhong, Premier Zhou, Hurley, and others flew to Chongqing with Chairman Mao.
The negotiations were extremely difficult, with many twists and turns, and the negotiations lasted for 43 days. The kmt and the communists compiled the records of the negotiations into a document, the "Minutes of the Talks between the Government and the REPRESENTATIVEs of the CPC", which is known in history as the "Double Tenth Agreement".
Zhang Zhizhong made great contributions to the conclusion of the agreement between the KMT and the CPC, and he also advised Chiang Kai-shek not to be too tough on this matter, not to let the outside world think that it was a "fake peace talk" of the KMT, and the influence of public opinion was not good.
On October 8, Zhang Zhizhong held a banquet for Chairman Mao attended by about 600 people in the auditorium of the Central Military Commission, and invited the very famous Li Jiaban in Chongqing to perform a Peking opera "The Gathering of Heroes" to help everyone entertain.
Two days later, Zhang Zhizhong escorted Chairman Mao and others back to Yan'an, which was his second arrival in Yan'an.
He spent two days in Yan'an, learning about local customs and customs, and listening to Premier Zhou and others talk about the current situation of the Communist Party.
On his departure for Chongqing, Chairman Mao personally took him to the airport and told him, "You are sincere. ”
Although Zhang Zhizhong could not influence Chiang Kai-shek's decision, his position was still very firm, and he was always committed to supporting the "peaceful coexistence" between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
Why?
During Chairman Mao's visit to Chongqing for negotiations, in addition to negotiations, he also sent people to understand what had changed in Chongqing, which was occupied by the Kuomintang.
"The first thing, the Sweeping Newspaper was founded when you besieged us in Jiangxi, and now it is changed to The Peace Newspaper. If you change your name, there should be a lot of people who don't approve of it. ”
There is indeed great resistance to the newspaper changing its name, and the biggest obstacle is Chiang Kai-shek.
"The second thing is that you abolished a concentration camp run by KangZe and released many revolutionary youths."
Kang Ze was reused by Chiang Kai-shek for unswervingly carrying out Chiang Kai-shek's orders, and this matter could be done, which showed that Zhang Zhizhong also spent a lot of energy.
Although these two incidents were voluntarily committed by Zhang Zhizhong himself, when he heard Chairman Mao express his gratitude to him for this, his heart was very warm, and he thought that Chairman Mao was indeed a good friend worth making.
After returning from Yan'an for the second time, Zhang Zhizhong often looked back on his past with Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and others, and he realized one thing: even if everyone was in a different political position, there was something that everyone could sit down and talk about.
After the signing of the "Double Tenth Agreement," the relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party did not improve qualitatively, and Chiang Kai-shek, at the instigation of US Ambassador to China Marshall, tried to provoke a civil war again.
In March 1946, Zhang Zhizhong rushed to Yan'an again to have a detailed discussion with Premier Zhou and Marshall of the "military mediation trio" and invited the representatives of the Chinese Communist Party to Nanjing for consultations and negotiations.
When Zhang Zhizhong was chatting with Chairman Mao, he proposed: "In the future, when you write history, don't forget to add a sentence 'Zhang Zhizhong went to Yan'an'."
Chairman Mao heard the extraneous voice of these words, "You may have to come to Yan'an in the future." ”
Zhang Zhizhong replied affirmatively, "There will be no more coming, peace has been achieved, the government has been reorganized, and you will all move to Nanjing in the future." ”
The message conveyed by Zhang Zhizhong's words is already obvious: Chiang Kai-shek's invitation to the Chinese Communists to nanjing for peace talks is actually to let them hear how the Kuomintang will take power next.
In early May, Premier Zhou led the crowd to Nanjing to negotiate with the Kuomintang, but the negotiations were only for Chiang Kai-shek to gain the support of public opinion, and the actual results of the negotiations did not have any constraint on Chiang Kai-shek.
The following month, the Kuomintang gathered 220,000 troops and attacked the Liberated Areas of the Central Plains, a full-scale civil war broke out, and Chiang Kai-shek even threatened to eliminate the Communist-led army within three to five months.
Zhang Zhizhong stayed in Beiping, and Premier Zhou facilitated the reunion of Zhang's family
After the outbreak of the all-out civil war, Chiang Kai-shek not only failed to eliminate the army led by the Communist Party, but under the pressure of the situation, on New Year's Day 1949, he issued a statement of "seeking peace" in an attempt to "rule by drawing the river" in order to preserve the remnants of the Kuomintang's military strength and gain respite.
On April 1, 1949, Zhang Zhizhong served as the head of the delegation, and the Kuomintang peace talk delegation composed of Shao Lizi, Huang Shaohu and others rushed to Beiping, while Premier Zhou was the representative of the Chinese Communists for the peace talks.
The peace talks involved military power, political power, jurisdiction and other aspects, until April 15, when the Kuomintang-Communist negotiators finally drafted the "Internal Peace Agreement (Final Amendment)".
The next day, the agreement was sent to Nanjing, causing a sensation in the Office Building of the Kuomintang government, and Bai Chongxi became angry on the spot: "Absolutely cannot agree, is this not surrender?" ”
Li Zongren, who has only been acting president for 3 months, did not say a word after reading the agreement.
Gu Zhutong went straight to the telegraph room and ordered someone to quickly send it to Chiang Kai-shek, who was fenghua in Zhejiang.
Chiang Kai-shek was very angry and sternly rebuked Zhang Zhizhong: "Wen Bai is incompetent, and he loses power and humiliates the country." ”
Subsequently, the Kuomintang issued an official statement rejecting the "peace agreement," marking the official collapse of the "Peiping Peace Talks."
The CCP clarified on the agreement that the last time to sign was April 20, the Kuomintang refused to sign, the deadline was over, and the People's Liberation Army officially launched the campaign to cross the river in Jiangyin.
On the evening of April 21, Zhang Zhizhong received a telegram from He Yingqin and others asking when they would return to Nanjing, and nanjing would send a special plane to Beiping to pick them up.
Zhang Zhizhong planned to go back on the 24th, but other members of the delegation objected: "Do we still need to go back?" ”
The members of the delegation were extremely disappointed with the Nanjing government and believed that the Kuomintang, represented by Chiang Kai-shek, should not attribute all the responsibility for the failure of the negotiations to the "incompetence" of the delegation.
There are also people who worry that the Nanjing government will "settle accounts after the autumn", that is, after they return to Nanjing, it is not certain whether they are dead or alive.
Seeing that everyone was reluctant to return to Nanjing, Zhang Zhi Center calmly reasoned with everyone:
"We came to negotiate peace on behalf of the Nanjing government, and when the talks broke down, we should go back." I know that going back is risky, and whether you go back or stay is up to you, but I'm the chief negotiator and I have to go back and get back to life."
Premier Zhou learned that the Kuomintang delegation would return to Nanjing on the 24th, so he and Lin Boqu, Li Lisan and others hurried to the Six Nations Hotel to meet Zhang Zhizhong.
Premier Zhou expressed our position to Zhang Zhizhong: "There is still a possibility of peace talks between the KUOMINTK and the COMMUNISTS in the future. We very much hope that the delegation will be able to stay".
The members of the delegation had wanted to stay, but now they are very happy to hear Premier Zhou say this, and it is better for the Chinese Communists to accept them than to return to Nanjing to accept Chiang Kai-shek's trial.
Only the regimental commander Zhang Zhizhong still insisted on returning to his life.
Premier Zhou analyzed his current situation and reminded him that in the past two days, Kuomintang agents have begun to carry out frequent activities in Guangzhou, Shanghai and other places:
"Brother Wen Bai, in the 'Xi'an Incident', we are already sorry for a friend surnamed Zhang, and now, we can't be sorry for your friend surnamed Zhang anymore."
Zhang Zhizhong knew that he would go back to Ji Ji, but he had to go back because his family was in Nanjing.
Premier Zhou told him not to worry, in fact, at the beginning of the year, the Kuomintang was defeated in the "Battle of Bengbu", and the various government offices of the Kuomintang in Nanjing began to prepare for the retreat.
At that time, our Party predicted that Chiang Kai-shek might send Zhang Zhizhong to negotiate peace, so the Third Field Army of the People's Liberation Army and the Shanghai Bureau of the Communist Party of China began to secretly protect Zhang Zhizhong's family.
When the peace talks broke down and Chiang Kai-shek became angry with Zhang Zhizhong, the Kuomintang agents would certainly attack his family, so Premier Zhou immediately issued a secret order, asking the nanjing underground party of the COMMUNIST Party to find a way to send Zhang Zhizhong's wife and children to Beiping or other liberated areas.
In addition, Premier Zhou also asked the comrades of the underground party to protect the family of Zhang Zhizhong's younger brother, Zhang Wenxin, the commander of the Kuomintang 85th Army who had already revolted.
On the morning of April 22, Zhang Wenxin's wife, Zheng Shuhua, and her mother and daughter boarded a train from Nanjing to Shanghai to meet with her sister-in-law, Hong Xihou, and her family in a small bungalow on Yuyuan Road.
The next morning, the underground party comrades sent them to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
"There are many people at the airport, if you meet acquaintances, you will say that you are picking up people." Don't say anything else, lest there be an accident. ”
In addition, the other party also instructed Hong and Zhang to sit separately and not to get together.
They were in a twin-engine plane called the "Queen of the Air," a special plane for the Kuomintang to go to Beiping to pick up the peace talks delegation and return to Shanghai.
After the plane took off, Hong Xihou found that in addition to the two of them, there were five passengers, fortunately, she did not know these people, and these people did not know her.
Where the purpose of the plane is, Hong Xihou does not know, only knows that it is a very safe place, until he sees the words "Qingdao Airport".
According to the ccp's underground party, "Someone will pick you up at the destination, and if there is no one to pick you up, don't move."
Hong Xihou could only continue to wait, seeing that several people had boarded the plane one after another, but no one came to talk to her, which meant that Qingdao Airport was not her terminal.
The family members watched her not move, and neither did anyone else.
At the same time, Premier Zhou came to the Beiping Six Nations Hotel, where the Kuomintang delegation was staying.
Zhang Zhizhong was very surprised by Premier Zhou's sudden visit, thinking that something had happened: "Mr. Zhou is looking for me?" ”
"Ask Mr. Bai, let's go to the airport together to pick up the guests."
"Guest? Do I know? ”
"You don't just know, you know very well."
Premier Zhou's answer really confused Zhang Zhizhong, who knew and knew a lot of people.
Arriving at Beiyuan Airport, Premier Zhou quipped: "There is a plane to Shanghai today, ask Mr. Bai to leave?" ”
Zhang Zhizhong was panicked at first, and when he saw Premier Zhou joking with him, he shook his head.
At this point, an aircraft landed on the tarmac.
The hatch opened, the people in the cabin stepped out one after another, and Zhang Zhizhong saw his wife Hong Xihou, his sister-in-law Zheng Shuhua, as well as the children and the nanny.
Zhang Zhizhong was shocked by the scene in front of him, and only then did he understand Premier Zhou's intentions: "Mr. Zhou, thank you. ”
Seeing the children running towards them, Premier Zhou motioned for him to hurry up and greet them.
As a soldier, Zhang Zhizhong was accustomed to seeing various scenes, and at this time, his heart was still wavering, and he really did not know how to thank Premier Zhou.
Feelings belong to feelings, choices belong to choice, premier Zhou still hopes that Zhang Zhizhong can clarify his choice.
"Mr. Wen Bai's family is safe, and we are all relieved." I just don't know that Mr. Wen Bai now chooses to return to Nanjing to resume his life? Or stay in Peiping? ”
"Mr. Zhou, I decided to stay."
From this moment on, Zhang Zhizhong officially abandoned all his kuomintang identities and devoted himself to following the Communist Party.
On April 3, 1969, Zhang Zhizhong's condition suddenly deteriorated again and he was rushed to the hospital for rescue. After 3 days, he died of ineffective medical treatment.
When Premier Zhou learned of this, he was very sad, and he resisted the pressure and not only set up a spiritual hall for Zhang Zhizhong, but also personally went to the scene of the memorial service on Babaoshan mountain to preside over the farewell ceremony for Zhang Zhizhong's body.
After the ceremony, Premier Zhou conveyed to Zhang Zhizhong's family two things that Chairman Mao was more concerned about, and the scene at the beginning of the article appeared.
The two things that Chairman Mao asked Premier Zhou to inquire on his behalf were:
"The first thing is: how to deal with the confidential documents that Mr. Wen Bai had in hand before his death;
The second thing is: how is your family's living situation? ”
Zhang Yichun understood the painstaking feelings of Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, and he was grateful for the concern of the two national leaders for the Zhang family:
"Premier, all the documents of my father's lifetime have been handed over to the relevant departments of the central government for proper handling."
Premier Zhou nodded and replied, "Just handle it." You will be well in the future. ”
He called out to Ding Jiang, who was standing not far away, and said to Zhang Yichun, "In the future, your family will encounter difficulties, so go directly to Ding Jiang." ”
In his later years, Zhang Yichun was still very grateful to Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou, and it was because of the care of the two leaders that they could live well all the time.
epilogue
Zhang Zhizhong was loyal to Chiang Kai-shek in the first half of his life, but he was not foolishly loyal, did not carry out Chiang Kai-shek's order to "suppress the Communists," and did not carry out things that undermined the relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
In his later years, he "understood the times" and made contributions to the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang and the promotion of ethnic unity and socialist construction.